Chapter Text
When Jaehyuk got a job in a big city, he may have failed to consider how much money it takes to actually get a decent apartment and how little the starting salary is for a game developer.
All of the single apartments that are in his budget are unfortunately too far away, or a bit low quality. This initial search took him so long that he already had to start his job, currently living on his friends’ couch for the time-being. This is much to the protest of his back since Jihoon and Hyeonjoon’s couch is not too accommodating for his wide 6ft stature.
After weeks of searching he resolutes himself to look for a roommate, because it seems like he isn’t going to get anything better than a glorified shoebox at this rate.
Many days of scams and people that just didn’t match his living conditions later, Jihoon sends him a picture of a flyer for a person looking for a roommate in a 2 bedroom apartment.
1 bedroom in 2 bd/2 bath apartment downtown (long term, unfurnished)
- Walking distance from public transit
- In-unit laundry, AC, lots of windows, apartment building includes gym and some coworking spaces
- $1800/mo, utilities and wifi included
- 1 male roommate - mid 20’s, no pets
- Please email [email protected] if interested with your name, age and occupation
The apartment itself seems pretty nice from the pictures, wide kitchen and counter space, some built-in cabinets scattered around here and there and a bathroom that doesn’t look like it smells like a sewer. The building itself seems to be recently built and even has an elevator.
This is actually bordering on too good to be true… is the proposed roommate some kind of adult film star or something? What's the catch?
He decides to try his luck and email the person anyways.
Subject: Roommate inquiry
Hi!
I saw your flyer for an available space in a 2 bed/2 bath apartment! I was wondering if that space is still available?
If it is, I would like to discuss a possible arrangement.
I am 27 years old and currently working as a game developer at Arcane games.
Sincerely,
Park Jaehyuk
A response comes in the next morning.
From: [email protected]
Re: Roommate inquiry
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in the available space. It would be appropriate for us to set up a meeting online to discuss any details and questions you have about the living space.
Please reply with the times you may be available in the next week.
Best,
Son Siwoo
Thankfully, the potential roommate is not an adult film star. Jaehyuk does suspect it for a second when they meet and the webcam quality is a bit too good, but he soon realizes the other man is clearly in an office. This becomes more evident due to the presence of a whiteboard, the edge of a window and a bookshelf displaying various higher education degrees.
Apparently Siwoo, also 27, is a Neuroscience Postdoc at the university nearby. Upon first impression, after the whole camera quality thing, the man is actually quite funny and personable. He also has a really nice voice. As they talk a little bit about their jobs as a starting point, he has a polite smile on his face the entire time.
“I study the impacts of different neurotransmitters and their receptors in attention deficit disorders.” He explains.
“That sounds really interesting.” Jaehyuk says, despite not knowing what half of the words in that sentence meant. “I just did a PhD in computer science and now I work as a game developer.”
Siwoo’s eyes light up in recognition. “Arcane right? I’ve played some of their games.”
“Yeah, I always liked video games as a kid so I decided to help make them.” Jaehyuk shrugs a little bashfully. The higher quality of the camera highlighted how excited the look in the other got in his eyes when the game company was mentioned.
“I guess we already have something in common.” Siwoo says, smiling brightly at him. “Anyways, for the apartment, do you have any questions to begin with?”
The meeting goes pretty smoothly. Jaehyuk asks questions about the parking situation, storage space, and maintenance. Again, this building is almost too good to be true.
They also move on to go over living preferences and similar cleanliness preferences. Turns out they have similar schedules, the typical 9-5 hours with the occasional late nights to do extra work, and occasional remote work days.
“I don’t think I’m the cleanest person but I would like the shared space to be organized.” Jaehyuk continues.
Siwoo nods in response. “That’s reasonable. I try not to make a big mess in the first place but if I have to I try to clean it quickly.”
“Do you have any restrictions for inviting people over?” Jaehyuk asks.
Siwoo pauses to think for a moment before answering. “I will have the occasional friend that likes to visit but I don’t anticipate any big parties. I don’t mind people over, but if it is a large group I would like a heads up.”
“I don’t mind people either. You don’t have to ask if it's 1 or 2 people.” He agrees “I was thinking we can do a housewarming thing together if you’re interested?”
Siwoo smiles at that, “That would be fun, we can organize something when we are settled in.”
“That’s all from my end.” Jaehyuk says “Do you have anything else?”
Siwoo hesitates before clearing his throat awkwardly, looking the most serious since the call began. “I hope this won’t be a problem, but I do like men… romantically.”
Jaehyuk nods to that to reassure him as genuinely as he can. “Yeah of course that is fine. I don’t, but that is still fine with me.”
The subtle tension in Siwoo’s shoulders releases. “Great. We can arrange a time for us to meet with the leasing office to get everything settled.”
The fateful meeting day arrives. They agree to meet when the apartment leasing office opens at 9am so they can have the day to move in. Siwoo’s eyebrows jump up a little in shock when he spots him. Jaehyuk catches him looking him up and down.
“You’re surprisingly tall.” Siwoo says, tiling his head a little.
Jaehyuk raises an eyebrow at that. “Surprisingly?”
Siwoo looks away, shrugging. “I don’t know, I thought sitting in a chair playing games all day would compress your spine or something.”
Jaehyuk laughs at that, scratching the back of his head. “Do you speak from experience?” He says playfully, gesturing to the other’s shorter stature.
Thankfully, Siwoo just laughs and hits his shoulder gently. “Shut up. I’m not that small.”
It surprises him how easy it is to converse with him, even if it's just their first meeting.
Also, completely platonically of course, Siwoo is pretty cute. The way that he throws his head back when he laughs with his entire body. His cheeks quirk up and turn rosy as the smile stays on his face. It’s just a couple observations.
As soon as everything is settled with the leasing office, they get their keys and the ‘okay’ to move in. Apparently Siwoo had done the due diligence of setting up everything that he could online so their move-in could go as smooth and fast as possible.
Within the day, the shared spaces are almost completely organized. They manage to divide up the apartment without much trouble and work on cleaning up their own spaces.
Living with Siwoo is amazing, to be honest. There was barely an adjustment period when living together.
Jaehyuk gets up a little late after a late night of coding? Siwoo is ready in the morning with an extra cup of coffee.
Siwoo is stuck in the lab for a couple extra hours for an experiment? Jaehyuk has dinner prepared for both of them.
When Jaehyuk wakes up in the morning on weekends Siwoo is already up, reading some brain book on their couch with the light streaming in from the open windows.
They quickly become really good friends, strangely in sync with each other.
They poke jabs at each other when they feel even just a little bit bored and it becomes entertainment for the next hour. Jaehyuk laughs at him when he beats Siwoo at the new game that they bought together. He purposefully explains things using big neuroscience words to see Jaehyuk’s confused face.
They also have a surprising amount of things in common, down to their fashion sense.
Not that there is much fashion in their fashion sense. If you can call the combination of a white or black t-shirt and sweatpants fashion then they have the same preferences.
Naturally, their clothes start getting mixed together. The only indication that Jaehyuk accidentally wore Siwoo’s clothes is the tightness on his shoulders since he does have a broader frame, and his pants being a little shorter than usual. Siwoo sometimes has to roll his pants up in comparison and his shirts fit slightly looser on him. Sharp collar bones peeking out of the neck of Jaehyuk’s shirt that he absolutely does not focus on.
And what if he does? He’s just worried for his roommate's health if anything. Really.
It’s one of those nights where Jaehyuk has to stay up to code. It’s not even night anymore as the sun has long begun to rise and the beams of sunlight are starting to peek through his blinds.
He just needs to get this one mechanic to work, all the character needs to do is to be able to walk from one side of the room with the string to the other in order to make a bridge but the string is not stringing, the character’s hat disappears when they walk forward and why is there the faint sound of an alarm? Where did that come from? There isn’t even an alarm clock in this section.
Jaehyuk lets out a long frustrated sigh and rubs his temples while exiting out of test mode so he doesn’t end up smashing his keyboard. Except… the alarm clock is still playing.
He confusedly looks around and takes off his headphones. The sound of the alarm keeps going. It’s a little louder now, and it's coming from Siwoo’s room.
Has he woken up? There’s no sound other than the alarm and it hasn’t been turned off…
Jaehyuk goes back to try fixing the code, but the alarm continues.
Siwoo did say something about an important presentation yesterday, what time was it again? The clock on his desktop indicates that it’s 7:34. If this presentation is earlier than 9 Siwoo is going to need to leave soon.
Just in case, Jaehyuk shuffles outside, and knocks at the other bedroom door. “Siwoo? Are you awake?”
No response.
After a minute of contemplation, Jaehyuk decides to crack the door open to see Siwoo dead asleep, cover pulled up to his chin, unaware that his phone is screaming at him to wake up.
Jaehyuk carefully approaches him and shakes at the lump of covers. “Siwoo, your alarm.”
Finally, Siwoo blinks himself awake, orienting himself to the situation. His hair is ruffled from being squished against the pillow all night and sticking out in different directions. He squints at Jaehyuk sleepily and then in the direction of the sound.
Realization dawns on his face as he bolts upright, and Jaehyuk is helpless to watch as the covers slide off Siwoo’s shoulders to reveal that he wasn’t wearing a shirt to sleep.
Jaehyuk knows that Siwoo is lean. He knows that he sometimes exercises in the building gym and regularly does stretches in the apartment when he has time. However, this is the first time Jaehyuk is really seeing him.
The smooth skin of Siwoo’s chest, not bulky with muscle but still has a somewhat delicate strength to it. There’s still a subtle curve to it, like his arms and shoulders. Jaehyuk just wants to wrap his arms around that body and feel .
Jaehyuk feels his throat dry as Siwoo twists around to turn his alarm off and check the time. The action only slides the covers down even more, revealing more of that taped waist that flares out to his hips. Thankfully, he does seem to be wearing pants.
He’s definitely staring. He should stop staring.
“I’m late! Thank you so much.” Siwoo says frantically, putting a plain black shirt that was scattered on the covers.
That seemed to snap Jaehyuk’s brain back online. “No- No problem.” He wheezes out.
Okay maybe not completely back online. He walks out to the kitchen in a bit of a daze, unable to get the tanned skin of his roommate out of his mind. He stares into space again as his brain wanders to an image of him roaming his hands across the planes of the other’s chest, across his shoulders, taking a bite out of the base of his neck.
Woah. Maybe he needs some sleep.
Siwoo dashes out of his bedroom, now cleaned up and completely dressed.
“Thank you so much for waking me up. I would’ve been late if it wasn’t for you.” Siwoo says, quickly packing his work bag.
Jaehyuk waves his hand in the air. “It’s okay. I hope the presentation goes well!”
A grateful smile is thrown in his direction before Siwoo puts his shoes on and heads out.
Jaehyuk teeters over to his room, desktop already asleep and collapses into bed. When his brain traitorously wanders to the image of his roommate again and he rubs his hands over his face a couple times like he’s trying to erase the thoughts. Maybe he is so confident in his sexuality that he’s not afraid to admit that another man’s body is pretty. That’s it.
Jaehyuk gets a text from his childhood friend while they are having dinner one night. Wangho says that he is going to be in the city for a work event for a weekend and asks if they can meet up for a night.
Jaehyuk then remembers the conversation they had during their first meeting. It would be nice to finally have a housewarming party when Wangho is in town.
“Do you want to do a housewarming thing?” Jaehyuk asks “One of my friends from back home is visiting over the weekend and I think it would be nice to do it while he’s here.”
Siwoo makes an affirmative sound from where he is getting them water from the kitchen. “That’s a good idea,” He says, “Next weekend?”
“Yea.” Jaehyuk confirms.
So on the day, Jaehyuk orders a feast for at least 10 people while Siwoo gets enough alcohol to kill 10 people.
“How much are you planning on drinking?” Jaehyuk asks, watching Siwoo unload the second 12 pack of beer.
“If we have some left we can always just save it for later.”
Jaehyuk invites Jihoon and Hyunjoon, of course. As well as his friend Minkyu, from work. Siwoo invites some friends of his own. Kiin, from his University days plus Dohyeon and Seonghoon from some adjacent labs at work.
On the night of the gathering, Siwoo seems to get along politely with Jihoon and Hyunjoon. Thankfully their friends seem to get along well together as well. However, Wangho on the other hand, Siwoo gets along with a little too well.
Siwoo being in Neuroscience and Wangho being in Psychology, their research interests overlap. When Wangho learns this, the biggest smile appears on his face. He immediately starts asking questions about research and general lab life.
He’s been friends with Wangho since they were in middle school. Jaehyuk knows Wangho, and this is a Wangho that is absolutely smitten, completely entertained.
He’s trying to pay attention to something that Jihoon is ranting to him and one of Siwoo’s friends about but his eyes can't help but wander over to Siwoo.
Is it homophobic to think that his two gay friends are flirting with each other? Wangho is also very social to anyone that he meets, and he doesn’t think that Siwoo is acting that differently from usual. Maybe.
He did just laugh at something Wangho said.
Which does not make a strange possessive feeling stir up in him at all.
“You’re glaring at them.” Jihoon says, suddenly next to him.
Jaehyuk quickly turns to look at him. “I am not!”
“Yes you are.” Siwoo’s friend, Kiin says to him.
“If looks could kill, Wangho would be dead.” Jihoon points out. “When I found you this apartment posting I didn’t know I would be finding you a relationship too.”
“There is no relationship.” Jaehyuk says. “Besides, I’m straight.”
Kiin eyes him suspiciously over his drink. “Could’ve fooled me.” He mumbles.
“I’ve seen Siwoo hyung in love and that is not him, okay? You have nothing to worry about.” Kiin reassures him. “Besides, he isn’t even his type.”
Jaehyuk can’t help but be curious. “What is his type?”
Kiin just looks him up and down cryptically. “Just go over to them, you know you want to.”
“I don’t!” He protests.
The other two just stare at him knowingly until he gives in. Although Jaehyuk is stubborn, the other two are right, and another one of Siwoo’s laughs just rang through the apartment and into his ears.
“Fine.” Jaehyuk concedes. “Only because you guys told me to.”
As casually as he can, Jaehyuk walks up to them and is suddenly unable to stop himself from putting a light hand on Siwoo’s waist. Siwoo looks up at him in response and acknowledges it by leaning into him just a little. Wangho, because he likes terrorizing Jaehyuk for fun, notices this and smiles knowingly at him.
“I can’t believe you invited me to a party and abandoned me like this.” Wangho whines. “I had to chat up your cute roommate to keep me company.”
Jaehyuk just rolls his eyes at him. “Yeah, and you seem to be having a lot of fun with him too. Besides, we’re getting lunch together tomorrow.”
Siwoo nods, “We were having lots of fun before you joined.”
Jaehyuk frowns exaggeratedly and turns away to which Siwoo grabs him on the arm with a laugh.
“Joke, joke.” He says “We’re just talking about work stuff.”
Then Wangho gets a sly look in his eyes, seemingly spotted something he likes.
“Siwoo, who’s your friend over there? More importantly, is he single and would be interested in someone like me?” Wangho asks.
They turn around to where Wangho is pointing to see Dohyeon and Hyunjoon chatting by the kitchen.
Siwoo laughs once more and turns back around. “That’s Dohyeon, and you should go over there and give it a try.”
Somehow, Wangho’s smile gets even wider.
“Perfect.” He says, “I’ll talk to you guys later.”
Wangho whisks off, probably to flirt with Dohyeon, and Jaehyuk just sighs at his friend’s antics. He also only then realizes that he still has his arm around Siwoo. He removes his touch and clears his throat awkwardly.
“I’m sorry for him.” Jaehyuk says. “He’s always like that.”
Siwoo has a look of amusement on his face. “He’s fun. I like him.”
They look around the apartment where their friends are mingling and talking to one another.
“I’m glad everyone seems to be getting along.” Jaehyuk comments.
Siwoo nods in agreement. “We should do this again.”